Since its invention some time ago, the battery has become obvious in many areas for its ability to store energy and return it when needed.
You have also surely noticed that in recent years, our motorcycles have more and more electrical elements on board and that the batteries have therefore become more and more used.
From then on, a new problem arose, that of making it last over time. Thus, in a previous article, we gave you a whole series of tips to apply to conserve your battery as well as possible.
But sometimes, even with careful and diligent maintenance, problems do arise. This is for example your case if you are here. Indeed, you have a motorcycle battery that discharges itself!
Do not panic however, that does not necessarily mean that the failure is big. That is why we are going to help you find the reason why you have a self-draining motorcycle battery in this article.
Step 1: put your motorcycle battery which discharges itself to recharge
The first thing to do when you have a self-draining motorcycle battery is to verify that the problem is with the battery and not somewhere else. To do this, the first step will be to load it.
Indeed, it is possible that an external phenomenon is at the origin of this discharge and that once fully recharged, it no longer poses a problem for you. In this case, it is in the rest of the article that you will find your answer.
But the second strong point is to immediately charge a battery that discharges itself, that's if you ever have a so-called smart charger to which you can connect it at home.
In addition to recharging your battery, these chargers are also capable of making real diagnoses and they can, for example, tell you if there is ever a malfunction in the very heart of the battery.
If ever, nothing was indicated and that despite everything, once you have recharged the self-discharging motorcycle battery, you still have the problem, you will surely find solutions in the rest of the article.
How long has it been since you used it?
The first thing we are going to find out is how long it has been since you used your self-discharging motorcycle battery to see if the problem is there.
Without going into the details of the chemical reactions of your battery, it needs to operate to keep its charge to a minimum. If not, she will start to lose little by little.
So, it's pretty normal to have a motorcycle battery that drains on its own at the end of winter if you ever haven't maintained it and also haven't ridden with it for those multiple months.
To avoid this problem again, what we can advise you is to invest in one of the smart chargers that we told you about at the start of this article.
Indeed, they can be connected to the battery of your motorcycle throughout the wintering period and will take care of maintaining it and giving it a charge if ever the need arises.
Thus, you should no longer have a problem with a self-draining motorcycle battery. But if you've never left your motorcycle for months at a standstill, then another problem is.
Step 2: Consider testing a self-discharging motorcycle battery
One of the reasons that might explain why you have a self-draining motorcycle battery is simply because it has reached the end of its life and is currently dead.
Called batteries a wearing part of your motorcycle and it's all in the name. This means that it is a part that we will have to change at regular intervals, generally three to four years.
To check if this is the case, what we advise you is to use a multimeter that you are going to put in Volt mode. Then check the data at the terminals of your battery and compare it to those indicated by the manufacturer.
If you ever have any data nearby, you should still be able to use your self-draining motorcycle battery for a little while. If not, you've figured out where the problem is.
Step 3: remember to check the battery charging system
Finally, let's see here one final case that might explain why you have a self-draining motorcycle battery. In this case, it is the energy recovery system that may be failing you.
As you know, when you ride, you recover some of the energy to recharge your battery. However, if this system is down, that may explain why your battery runs out of fuel for no apparent reason. In this case, go visit your dealer for a detailed diagnosis and change the offending parts.
In short, when you are faced with a battery that discharges itself, you must:
- Remember the last time it was used
- Try to put it back on load and see the result
- Test the battery using a multimeter
- IF nothing works, check that it is recharging properly when you are riding
Know your batteries well to avoid problems
If you are not particularly versed in motorcycle batteries, it can be beneficial to know at least how it works and for that we have established a complete guide for you on another article.
On it you will find not only how a motorcycle battery works, the different types that you can find in the trade, but also buying advice. In short, enough to be knowledgeable on the subject!
